Device and Method of Handling Flexible Duplexing

ABSTRACT

A communication device for handling a measurement comprises at least one storage device; and at least one processing circuit coupled to the at least one storage device. The at least one storage device stores, and the at least one processing circuit is configured to execute instructions of: receiving information of a measurement set for at least one slot from a base station (BS), wherein the information comprises at least one of a measurement timing configuration of the measurement set and a measurement resource of the measurement set; and performing the measurement in the at least one slot according to the measurement set, to obtain a measurement result.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/057,836 filed on Aug. 8, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/542,850 filed on Aug. 9, 2017.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device and a method used in awireless communication system, and more particularly, to a device and amethod of handling a flexible duplexing.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A long-term evolution (LTE) system supporting the 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) Rel-8 standard and/or the 3GPP Rel-9 standardare developed by the 3GPP as a successor of the universal mobiletelecommunication system (UMTS) for further enhancing performance of theUMTS to satisfy increasing needs of users. The LTE system includes a newradio interface and a new radio network architecture that provides highdata rate, low latency, packet optimization, and improved systemcapacity and coverage. In the LTE system, a radio access network knownas an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN)includes at least one evolved Node-B (eNB) for communicating with atleast one user equipment (UE), and for communicating with a core networkincluding a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway, etc.,for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) control.

A LTE-advanced (LTE-A) system, as its name implies, is an evolution ofthe LTE system. The LTE-A system targets faster switching between powerstates, improves performance at the coverage edge of an eNB, increasespeak data rate and throughput, and includes advanced techniques, such ascarrier aggregation (CA), coordinated multipoint (CoMP)transmissions/reception, uplink (UL) multiple-input multiple-output(UL-MIMO), licensed-assisted access (LAA) (e.g., using LTE), etc. For aUE and an eNB to communicate with each other in the LTE-A system, the UEand the eNB must support standards developed for the LTE-A system, suchas the 3GPP Rel-1X standard or later versions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention therefore provides a device and method forhandling a flexible duplexing to solve the abovementioned problem.

A communication device for handling a measurement comprises at least onestorage device; and at least one processing circuit coupled to the atleast one storage device. The at least one storage device stores, andthe at least one processing circuit is configured to executeinstructions of: receiving information of a measurement set for at leastone slot from a base station (BS), wherein the information comprises atleast one of a measurement timing configuration of the measurement setand a measurement resource of the measurement set; and performing themeasurement in the at least one slot according to the measurement set,to obtain a measurement result.

A method for handling a measurement comprises receiving information of ameasurement set for at least one first slot from a base station (BS),wherein the information comprises at least one of a measurement timingconfiguration of the measurement set and a measurement resource of themeasurement set; and performing the measurement in the at least onefirst slot according to the measurement set, to obtain a measurementresult.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication systemaccording to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to anexample of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a TB segmentation according to anexample of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process according to an example of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration and a RRIaccording to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a power level adjustment according toan example of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a detection of a power level adjustmentaccording to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a detection of a power level adjustmentaccording to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process according to an example of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration according to anexample of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration with UE-specificcommunication operations according to an example of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration, a RRI and aFSSI according to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a process according to an example of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration withcorresponding operations according to an example of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration withcorresponding operations according to an example of the presentinvention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a process according to an example of thepresent invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a measurement timing configurationaccording to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration withcorresponding measurements according to an example of the presentinvention.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration withcorresponding measurements according to an example of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 10according to an example of the present invention. The wirelesscommunication system 10 is briefly composed of cells CL1-CL2 andcommunication devices CD1-CD2. The wireless communication system 10 maysupport a time-division duplexing (TDD) mode, a frequency-divisionduplexing (FDD) mode, a TDD-FDD joint operation mode or alicensed-assisted access (LAA) mode. That is, the cell CL1 (or the cellCL2) and the communication device CD1 (or the communication device CD2)may communicate with each other via FDD carrier(s), TDD carrier(s),licensed carrier(s) (licensed serving cell(s)) and/or unlicensedcarrier(s) (unlicensed serving cell(s)). In addition, the wirelesscommunication system 10 may support a carrier aggregation (CA). That is,the cell CL1 (or the cell CL2) may be a primary cell (e.g., primarycomponent carrier) or a secondary cell (e.g., secondary componentcarrier).

In FIG. 1, the cells CL1-CL2 and the communication devices CD1-CD2 aresimply utilized for illustrating the structure of the wirelesscommunication system. 10. Practically, the cells CL1-CL2 may belong to auniversal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) including at leastone Node-B (NB) in a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS).In one example, the cells CL1-CL2 may belong to an evolved UTRAN(E-UTRAN) including at least one evolved NB (eNB) and/or at least onerelay node in a long term evolution (LTE) system, a LTE-Advanced (LTE-A)system, an evolution of the LTE-A system, etc. In one example, the cellsCL1-CL2 may belong to a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN)including at least one next generation Node-B (gNB) and/or at least onefifth generation (5G) base station (BS). That is, a cell may becontrolled/established by a BS which may be a NB, an eNB, a gNB or a 5GBS.

A new radio (NR) is a standard defined for a 5G system (or 5G network)to provide a unified air interface with better performance. gNBs aredeployed to realize the 5G system, which supports advanced features suchas enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low LatencyCommunications (URLLC), massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), etc.The eMBB provides broadband services with a greater bandwidth and alow/moderate latency. The URLLC provides applications (e.g., end-to-endcommunication) with properties of a higher security and a low latency.The examples of the applications include an industrial internet, smartgrids, infrastructure protection, remote surgery and an intelligenttransportation system (ITS). The mMTC is able to supportinternet-of-things (IoT) of the 5G system which mat billions ofconnected devices and/or sensors.

Furthermore, the cells CL1-CL2 may belong to a network include at leastone of the UTRAN/E-UTRAN/NG-RAN and a core network, wherein the corenetwork may include network entities such as Mobility Management Entity(MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW),Self-Organizing Networks (SON) server and/or Radio Network Controller(RNC), etc. In one example, after the network receives informationtransmitted by a communication device, the information may be processedonly by the UTRAN/E-UTRAN/NG-RAN and decisions corresponding to theinformation are made at the UTRAN/E-UTRAN/NG-RAN. In one example, theUTRAN/E-UTRAN/NG-RAN may forward the information to the core network,and the decisions corresponding to the information are made at the corenetwork after the core network processes the information. In oneexample, the information may be processed by both theUTRAN/E-UTRAN/NG-RAN and the core network, and the decisions are madeafter coordination and/or cooperation are performed by theUTRAN/E-UTRAN/NG-RAN and the core network.

A communication device may be a user equipment (UE), a low cost device(e.g., machine type communication (MTC) device), a device-to-device(D2D) communication device, a narrow-band internet of things (IoT)(NB-IoT) device, a mobile phone, a laptop, a tablet computer, anelectronic book, a portable computer system, or combination thereof. Inaddition, a cell (or a BS controlling it) and a communication device canbe seen as a transmitter or a receiver according to direction (i.e.,transmission direction), e.g., for an uplink (UL), the communicationdevice is the transmitter and the cell is the receiver, and for adownlink (DL), the cell is the transmitter and the communication deviceis the receiver.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 20 according toan example of the present invention. The communication device 20 may beused for realizing a communication device or a cell shown in FIG. 1, butis not limited herein. The communication device 20 may include at leastone processing circuit 200 such as a microprocessor or ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), at least one storage device 210 andat least one communication interfacing device 220. The at least onestorage device 210 may be any data storage device that may store programcodes 214, accessed and executed by the at least one processing circuit200. Examples of the at least one storage device 210 include but are notlimited to a subscriber identity module (SIM), read-only memory (ROM),flash memory, random-access memory (RAM), Compact Disc Read-Only Memory(CD-ROM), digital versatile disc-ROM (DVD-ROM), Blu-ray Disc-ROM(BD-ROM), magnetic tape, hard disk, optical data storage device,non-volatile storage device, non-transitory computer-readable medium(e.g., tangible media), etc. The at least one communication interfacingdevice 220 is preferably at least one transceiver and is used totransmit and receive signals (e.g., data, messages and/or packets)according to processing results of the at least one processing circuit200.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration 30 according toan example of the present invention. The UL/DL configuration 30 includes10 slots ST1-ST10, wherein each of the slots ST1-ST10 may be a DL slot(denoted as D), a UL slot (denoted as U) or a flexible slot (denoted asF). A flexible slot may be a DL slot, a UL slot or a self-contained slot(e.g., including DL resource, UL resource and/or flexible resource). Aslot may include K symbols, e.g., 14 orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) symbols.

A flexible slot of a cell is defined by the 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) to improve scheduling flexibility. However, a flexibleslot structure of the flexible slot may not be known by neighboringcell(s) of the cell. Cross-link interference (CLI) is generated betweenthe cells, and performance of the communication device degrades. Inaddition, reserving resource in the flexible slot for transmittingcontrol information is not known by the neighboring cell(s). Thecommunication device cannot operate properly, if the control informationis not received correctly. Thus, processing (e.g., receiving,identifying and/or protecting) of the flexible slot is an importantproblem to be solved.

In one example, the determination of the flexible slot structure (e.g.,DL slot, UL slot, or self-contained slot) is dynamically decidedaccording to information of a cell, such as a traffic load, a bufferstatus, etc. In addition, the flexible slot structure may be determinedbefore a start of a period of a UL/DL configuration. The flexible slotstructure may not be timely exchanged among cells (e.g., the cells CL1and CL2).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process 40 according to an example of thepresent invention. The process 40 may be utilized in a first BS, tohandle a flexible duplexing. The process 40 may be compiled into theprogram codes 214 and includes the following steps:

Step 400: Start.

Step 402: Schedule a first cell of the first BS according to a firstUL/DL configuration, wherein the first UL/DL configuration includes atleast one flexible slot.

Step 404: Transmit assistance information of the at least one flexibleslot of the first cell from the first cell to a second cell.

Step 406: End.

According to the process 40, the first BS Schedule a first cell (e.g.,cell CL1) of the first BS according to a first UL/DL configuration,wherein the UL/DL configuration includes at least one flexible slot.Then, the first BS transmit assistance information of the at least oneflexible slot of the first cell from the first cell to a second cell(e.g., CL2). Thus, the second cell may perform a scheduling according tothe assistance information, to reduce a cross-link interference (CLI)caused by the communication device CD2 to the communication device CD1.

Realization of the process 40 is not limited to the above description.The following examples may be applied for realizing the process 40.

In one example, the assistance information includes a size of at leastone reserving resource. For example, the at least one reserving resourceis located in the at least one flexible slot. In one example, theassistance information includes information of the first UL/DLconfiguration. In one example, the size of the at least one reservingresource (e.g., in time and/or in frequency) inflexible slots may not beknown to neighboring cell(s), e.g., the flexible slot structure may notbe exchanged exactly or instantaneously. The at least one reservingresource in time may be a number of OFDM symbols (e.g., continuous ornon-continuous). The at least one reserving resource in frequency may bea number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) (e.g., continuous ornon-continuous), e.g., bandwidth part(s) or a whole bandwidth.

In one example, the assistance information includes a reserving resourceindicator (RRI) indicating at least one reserving resource in the atleast one flexible slot. In one example, the RRI indicates at least oneof at least one resource comprising a control resource set (CORESET) inthe at least one reserving resource and a number of symbols reserved forultra-reliable and low Latency communications (URLLC) in the at leastone reserving resource.

In one example, the assistance information is for performing ascheduling in the second cell. In one example, the second cell belongsto a second BS. The first BS and the second BS may be the same BS ordifferent BSs. In one example, the second cell is configured with asecond UL/DL configuration.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration 50 and a RRIaccording to an example of the present invention. Considering a flexibleslot in the UL/DL configuration 50, the RRI indicates at least oneresource comprising a CORESET and a number of OFDM symbols reserved forURLLC in the at least one reserving resource. The RRI includes two bitswhich are used for indicating one of 4 resource allocations (a)-(d) ofthe CORESET and the number of OFDM symbols for the URLLC. In each of theresource allocations, a vertical axis and a horizontal axis represent afrequency axis and a time axis, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a power level adjustment according toan example of the present invention. The cells CL1-CL2 are configuredwith UL/DL configurations 1-2, respectively, and slots ST1-ST3 of theUL/DL configurations 1-2 are considered in the present example tosimplify the illustration. The slots ST1-ST3 of the UL/DL configuration1 are a DL slot, a DL slot and a flexible slot, respectively. The slotsST1-ST3 of the UL/DL configuration 2 are a DL slot, a flexible slot anda UL slot, respectively. The communication device CD2 may be scheduledby the cell CL2 to perform a UL transmission in the slot ST3. In detail,the communication device CD2 may receive a transmission power control(TPC) command indicating a power level P1 in a UL grant. Thecommunication device CD2 may obtain (e.g., determine, select) a numberof OFDM symbols M (e.g., reserving resource) according to at least oneof a higher layer signal or a UL grant DL control information (DCI). Thecommunication device CD2 may obtain (e.g., determine, select, calculate)a power level P2 (e.g., P2=wP1) for the M OFDM symbols according to atleast one of a higher layer signal or a UL grant DL DCI. Thus, a CLIcaused by the communication device CD2 to the communication device CD1in the slot ST3 (which is the flexible slot for the communication deviceCD1) is reduced. In one example, P2=0 may be used to reduce more CLI.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a detection of a power level adjustmentaccording to an example of the present invention. The communicationdevice CD2 may be scheduled (e.g., indicated) to perform a ULtransmission with a power level P1 started at a first symbol of a slotaccording to a UL grant. Then, two cases (a) and (b) of the followingoperations are illustrated as follows.

For the case (a), the communication device CD2 may determine (e.g.,detect, know) that the slot is not a UL slot (e.g., is a flexible slot)according to a flexible slot structure indicator (FSSI) or controlinformation. In the present example, the slot may be a flexible slot forthe communication device CD1. Accordingly, the communication device CD2may start the UL transmission at the M-th symbol, wherein M may bepreconfigured, e.g., by a radio resource control (RRC) signal. Thecommunication device CD2 may transmit a signal indicating K=1 aftertransmitting a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) to the cell CL2, toindicate that M symbols before the DMRS are not transmitted (e.g.,dropped). The signal indicating K=1 is not included in the first Msymbols. In one example, a position for transmitting the DMRS is a fixedsymbol index.

For the case (b), the communication device CD2 may determine (e.g.,detect, know) that the slot is a UL slot according to a FSSI or controlinformation. In the present example, the slot may be a flexible slot forthe communication device CD1. Accordingly, the communication device CD2may start the UL transmission at the first symbol. The communicationdevice CD2 may transmit a signal indicating K=0 after transmitting aDMRS to the cell CL2, to indicate that M symbols before the DMRS aretransmitted. In the first M symbols, data transmitted before and afterthe DMRS may be the same, i.e., the data is duplicated. In one example,a position for transmitting the DMRS is a fixed symbol index.

Thus, the cell CL2 can determine whether the first M symbols aretransmitted according to the signal indicating K=0 or K=1.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a detection of a power level adjustmentaccording to an example of the present invention. The communicationdevice CD2 may be scheduled (e.g., indicated) to perform a ULtransmission with a power level P1 started at a first symbol of a slotaccording to a UL grant. Then, two cases (a) and (b) are illustrated asfollows.

For the case (a), the communication device CD2 may determine (e.g.,detect, know) that the slot is not a UL slot (e.g., is a flexible slot)according to a FSSI or control information. Accordingly, thecommunication device CD2 may start the UL transmission at the M-thsymbol, wherein M may be preconfigured, e.g., by a RRC signal. Thecommunication device CD2 may transmit a DMRS to the cell CL2, toindicate that symbols after the DMRS are transmitted, i.e., M symbolsbefore the DMRS are not transmitted (e.g., dropped).

For the case (b), the communication device CD2 may determine (e.g.,detect, know) that the slot is a UL slot according to a FSSI or controlinformation. Accordingly, the communication device CD2 may start the ULtransmission at the first symbol. The communication device CD2 maytransmit a DMRS to the cell CL2, to indicate that all symbols after theDMRS are transmitted.

Thus, the cell CL2 can determine which symbols are transmitted accordingto the reception of the DMRS.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process 90 according to an example of thepresent invention. The process 90 may be utilized in the communicationdevice CD2, to handle a flexible duplexing. The process 90 may becompiled into the program codes 214 and includes the following steps:

Step 900: Start.

Step 902: Receive first control information related to a first cell fromthe first cell.

Step 904: Obtain a first flexible slot configuration of at least onefirst flexible slot of a first UL/DL configuration of the first cellaccording to the first control information.

Step 906: Perform a communication operation with a second cell accordingto the first flexible slot configuration.

Step 908: End.

According to the process 90, the communication device CD2 receives(e.g., listens) first control information related to a first cell (e.g.,cell CL1) from the first cell. The communication device CD2 obtains afirst flexible slot configuration of at least one first flexible slot ofa first UL/DL configuration of the first cell according to the firstcontrol information. Then, the communication device CD2 performs acommunication operation with a second cell (e.g., cell CL2) according tothe first flexible slot configuration. Thus, a CLI caused by thecommunication device CD2 to the communication device CD1 is reduced. Inone example, the first cell and the second cell belong to (e.g., becontrolled by) a same BS or different BSs.

Realization of the process 90 is not limited to the above description.The following examples may be applied for realizing the process 90.

In one example, the communication operation includes at least one of areception of a DCI and a measurement in a flexible slot of the secondcell. In one example, the communication device CD2 further receivessecond control information related to the second cell from the secondcell. The communication device CD2 obtains a second flexible slotconfiguration of at least one second flexible slot of a second UL/DLconfiguration of the second cell according to the second controlinformation. Then, the communication device CD2 performs thecommunication operation with the second cell according to the firstflexible slot configuration and the second flexible slot configuration.It should be noted that the communication device CD2 mainly performs thecommunication operation based on the second flexible slot configurationwhile taking the first flexible slot configuration as reference forslightly modifying the communication operation.

In one example, the first flexible slot configuration is indicated by aFSSI in the first control information. That is, the FSSI may indicatewhich slot is a self-contained slot. Further, the RRI may be received ina physical layer signaling, a medium access control (MAC) controlelement (CE) or a RRC signaling. In one example, the first UL/DLconfiguration includes (e.g., only) the at least one first flexibleslot. In one example, at least one transition point of the at least onefirst flexible slot is UE-specific.

In one example, the communication device CD2 further receives a RRIindicating at least one reserving resource in the at least one firstflexible slot. Further, the RRI may be received in a physical layersignaling or a RRC signaling.

In one example, the communication operation includes performing a firsttransmission with a first power level in a first part of one of the atleast one first flexible slot with the second cell; and performing asecond transmission with a second power level in a second part of theone of the at least one first flexible slot with the second cell,wherein the first power level is smaller than the second power level. Inone example, a width of the first part is obtained according to a RRIindicating at least one reserving resource in the at least one firstflexible slot and/or a FSSI indicating the first flexible slotconfiguration. In one example, a width of the first part is obtainedaccording to a higher layer signaling and/or a UL grant DCI. In oneexample, a unit of the width is represented (e.g., counted) by thenumber of OFDM symbols.

In one example, the communication operation includes at least one of areception of a DCI and a measurement in a DL part of one of the at leastone flexible slot.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration 100 according toan example of the present invention. The UL/DL configuration 80 includes10 slots ST1-ST10, wherein each of the slots ST1-ST10 is a DL slot(denoted as D), a UL slot (denoted as U) or a flexible slot (denoted asF). A flexible slot may be a DL slot, a UL slot or a self-contained slot(e.g., including DL resource, UL resource and/or flexible resource). Inthe present example, the slots ST4-ST7 are the flexible slots, whereinthe slots ST4-ST5 the DL slots and the slot ST7 is the UL slot. In oneexample, the UE receives a FSSI (e.g., bits [1 0]) indicating that the3rd slot of the flexible slots is a self-contained slot. In addition,the UE may obtain (e.g., determine) that the slots (i.e., the slotsST1-ST5) before the self-contained slot are the DL slots and the slots(i.e., the slots ST7-ST10) after the self-contained slot are the ULslots. In one example, the UE receives a FSSI (e.g., bits [1 1 1 0])indicating that the last slot of the flexible slots is the UL slot. Inone example, the UE simply treats (e.g., determines) all the flexibleslots as the self-contained slots.

Examples of a self-contained slot are not limited to the abovedescription. In one example, a resource not indicated as “fixed UL”,“fixed DL” or “reserved/blank” can be determined as “flexible resource”,and a transmission direction of the flexible resource can be changeddynamically. In one example, a transmission direction for the NR can bedefined by a set of resources (e.g., slot) including at least one of afixed DL resource, a fixed UL resource and a flexible resource, and atransmission direction of the flexible resource can be changeddynamically according to a physical layer signaling and/or a MAC layersignaling. In one example, a self-contained slot can be treated as aspecial slot including at least one of a DL resource (e.g., DL pilottime slot, DwPTS), a guard period (GP) and a UL resource (e.g., UL pilottime slot, UpPTS).

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration 110 withUE-specific communication operations according to an example of thepresent invention. The UL/DL configuration 90 includes 10 slotsST1-ST10, wherein each of the slots ST1-ST10 is a DL slot (denoted asD), a UL slot (denoted as U) or a flexible slot (denoted as F). Aflexible slot may be a DL slot, a UL slot or a self-contained slot(e.g., including DL resource, UL resource and/or flexible resource). Aslot may include 7 symbols, e.g., OFDM symbols. In the present example,all the slots ST1-ST10 are the flexible slots, wherein the slots ST1-ST3are the DL slots, the slots ST4-ST6 are the self-contained slots and theslots ST7-ST10 are the UL slots.

Considering the slots ST4-ST6, there are 21 symbols S1-S21. A symbol maybe a DL symbol (denoted as D), a UL symbol (denoted as U) or a guardperiod (denoted as GP). There are 5 transition points TP1-TP5represented by arrows. A transition point may be indicated or activatedby a higher layer signaling, a RRC signaling, a MAC CE or a physicallayer signaling. A communication device may obtain schedulinginformation about a position of a transition point of the UL/DLconfiguration 110, a position of monitoring DL signaling, and/or a ULgrant, which is included in a DCI of a fixed DL slot before flexibleslot(s).

As stated in the previous description, a transition point may beUE-specific. The communication devices CD1-CD3 are configured with thetransition points TP1, TP3 and TP4, respectively. For a communicationdevice, transmission directions of the symbols before and after are DLand UL, respectively, and the communication device only performscommunication operations in the labeled symbols. For example, thecommunication device CD1 performs in the symbols S1-S5, S7, S12-S14 andS20-S21.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration 120, a RRI and aFSSI according to an example of the present invention. The UL/DLconfiguration 120 includes 10 slots ST1-ST10, wherein each of the slotsST1-ST10 is a DL slot (denoted as D), a UL slot (denoted as U) or aflexible slot (denoted as F). A flexible slot may be a DL slot, a ULslot or a self-contained slot (e.g., including DL resource, UL resourceand/or flexible resource). In the present example, the slots ST4-ST7 arethe flexible slots, wherein the slots ST4-ST5 are the DL slots and theslots ST6-ST7 are the UL slots. The communication device CD2 may receivea FSSI (e.g., bits [1 1 0 0]) and a RRI (e.g., bits [1 1]) in the slotsST1-ST3, e.g., in physical layer signalings. In detail, the bits [1 1 00] of the FSSI correspond to the slots ST4-ST7, respectively, andindicate that the slots ST4-ST5 include DL parts (e.g., the DL slots orthe self-contained slots) and the slots ST6-ST7 are the UL slots. Thebits [1 1] of the RRI indicate the number “3”, and indicates that 3 OFDMsymbols are reserved as reserving resources in each of the slotsST4-ST5. Thus, the communication device CD2 can operate properlyaccording to the information of the slots ST4-ST7.

It should be noted that the FSSI and/or the RRI may be transmitted in aslot including a DL part, wherein the slot may be a fixed DL slot and/ora self-contained slot. In one example, the FSSI and/or the RRI may betransmitted multiple times in DL slots, slots including DL parts, toimprove the robustness of the FSSI and/or the RRI.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a process 130 according to an example of thepresent invention. The process 130 may be utilized in the communicationdevice CD1, to handle a data scheduling. The process 130 may be compiledinto the program codes 214 and includes the following steps:

Step 1300: Start.

Step 1302: Receive at least one first DCI detection for a plurality ofDL receptions in a plurality of slots of a first UL/DL configuration ofa first cell from the first cell.

Step 1304: Perform the plurality of receptions in the plurality of slotsaccording to the at least one first DCI.

Step 1306: End.

According to the process 130, the communication device CD1 receives atleast one first DCI detection for a plurality of DL receptions in aplurality of slots of a first UL/DL configuration of a first cell fromthe first cell. Then, the communication device CD1 performs theplurality of receptions in the plurality of slots according to the atleast one first DCI. In one example, the first UL/DL configuration isconfigured by a higher layer signalling (e.g., RRC signalling).

Realization of the process 130 is not limited to the above description.The following examples may be applied for realizing the process 130.

In one example, the at least one first DCI includes a positioninformation of each of the plurality of DL receptions. Further, theposition information includes a starting position and an ending positionof the each of the plurality of DL receptions. In one example, aphysical resource block (PRB) allocation of each of the plurality of DLreceptions is the same. In one example, a same transport block (TB) isrepeated in each of the plurality of DL receptions. In one example, theplurality of slots include at least one flexible resource. In oneexample, the plurality of DL receptions are in the plurality of slots ofone of at least one bandwidth part, respectively. In one example, theplurality of DL receptions forma contiguous DL reception. That is, thecontiguous DL reception is performed across the plurality of slots.

In one example, the number of the at least one bandwidth part isdetermined according to a system bandwidth, a higher layer signallingand/or a fixed value. In one example, the number of PRBs in a bandwidthpart is determined according to a system bandwidth, a higher layersignalling and/or a fixed value.

In one example, the communication device CD1 receiving a second DCIindicating at least one resource type of at least one flexible resourcein the plurality of slots. Then, the communication device CD1 performsthe plurality of DL receptions in the at least one flexible resource inthe plurality of slots according to the at least one first DCI and thesecond DCI. Further, the at least one type includes at least onedirection (e.g., UL, DL and/or flexible) of the at least one flexibleresource. In one example, the at least one first DCI is received in a DLslot of the first UL/DL configuration. Further, a direction of the DLslot is DL for a second UL/DL configuration of a second cell. In oneexample, the first cell and the second cell belong to (e.g., becontrolled by) a same BS or different BSs.

It should be noted that the second DCI may specify the resource type(s)of the flexible resource(s) and cannot specify (or change) resourcetype(s) of UL slot(s) (UL resource(s)) and DL slot(s) (DL resource(s))specified by the first UL/DL configuration.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration 140 withcorresponding operations according to an example of the presentinvention. The UL/DL configuration 140 includes 10 slots ST1-ST10,wherein each of the slots ST1-ST10 is a DL slot (denoted as D), a ULslot (denoted as U) or a flexible slot (denoted as F). A flexible slotmay be (e.g., configured by the second DCI as) a DL slot, a UL slot or aself-contained slot (e.g., including DL resource, UL resource and/orflexible resource). In the present example, the slots ST4-ST7 are theflexible slots. Three cases (a)-(c) of utilizations of a bandwidth partare discussed as follows.

In the case (a), the communication device CD2 performs a DCI detectionto receive DCIs DCI1-DCI3 in the slot ST3. The DCIs DCI1-DCI3 indicatereceptions of physical DL shared channels (PDSCHs) PDSCH1-PDSCH3 in theslots ST4-ST6, respectively. The PDSCHs PDSCH1-PDSCH3 are transmitted inPRBs of a bandwidth part, and the PRBs are partly different orcompletely different. Thus, the communication device CD2 can receive thePDSCHs PDSCH1-PDSCH3 in the slots ST4-ST6 according to the DCIsDCI1-DCI3.

In the case (b), the communication device CD2 performs a DCI detectionto receive a DCI DCI1 in the slot ST3. The DCI DCI1 indicates receptionsof PDSCHs PDSCH1-PDSCH3 in the slots ST4-ST6, respectively. The PDSCHsPDSCH1-PDSCH3 are transmitted in the same PRBs of a bandwidth part.Thus, the communication device CD2 can receive the PDSCHs PDSCH1-PDSCH3in the slots ST4-ST6 according to the DCI DCI1.

In the case (c), the communication device CD2 performs a DCI detectionto receive a DCI DCI1 in the slot ST3. The DCI DCI1 indicates acontiguous reception of a PDSCH PDSCH1 in the slots ST4-ST6. That is,the PDSCH PDSCH1 is received in the same PRBs of a bandwidth part acrossthe slots ST4-ST6. Thus, the communication device CD2 can receive thePDSCH PDSCH1 in the slots ST4-ST6 according to the DCI DCI1.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of UL/DL configurations 150 and 152 withcorresponding operations according to an example of the presentinvention. Each of the UL/DL configurations 150 and 152 includes 10slots ST1-ST10, wherein each of the slots ST1-ST10 is a DL slot (denotedas D), a UL slot (denoted as U) or a flexible slot (denoted as F). Aflexible slot may be a DL slot, a UL slot or a self-contained slot(e.g., including DL resource, UL resource and/or flexible resource). TheUL/DL configurations 150 and 152 are operated by the cells CL2 and CL1,respectively. In the present example, the slots ST4-ST7 of the UL/DLconfigurations 150 and 152 are the flexible slots. Three cases (a)-(c)of utilizations of a bandwidth part are discussed as follows.

In the case (a), the communication device CD2 performs a DCI detectionto receive DCIs DCI1-DCI4 in the slot ST2. The DCIs DCI1-DCI4 indicatereceptions of PDSCHs PDSCH1-PDSCH4 in the slots ST3-ST6, respectively.The PDSCHs PDSCH1-PDSCH4 are transmitted in PRBs of a bandwidth part,and the PRBs are partly different or completely different. Note that thePDSCH PDSCH1 locates in the DL slot while the PDSCHs PDSCH2-PDSCH4locate in the flexible slots. Thus, the communication device CD2 canreceive the PDSCHs PDSCH1-PDSCH4 in the slots ST3-ST6 according to theDCIs DCI1-DCI4.

In the case (b), the communication device CD2 performs a DCI detectionto receive a DCI DCI1 in the slot ST2. The DCI DCI1 indicates receptionsof PDSCHs PDSCH1-PDSCH4 in the slots ST3-ST6, respectively. The PDSCHsPDSCH1-PDSCH4 are transmitted in the same PRBs of a bandwidth part. Notethat the PDSCH PDSCH1 locates in the DL slot while the PDSCHsPDSCH2-PDSCH4 locate in the flexible slots. Thus, the communicationdevice CD2 can receive the PDSCHs PDSCH1-PDSCH4 in the slots ST3-ST6according to the DCI DCI1.

In the case (c), the communication device CD2 performs a DCI detectionto receive a DCI DCI1 in the slot ST2. The DCI DCI1 indicates acontiguous reception of a PDSCH PDSCH1 in the slots ST3-ST6. That is,the PDSCH PDSCH1 is received in the same PRBs of a bandwidth part acrossthe slots ST3-ST6. Note that part of the PDSCH PDSCH1 locates in the DLslot while the rest of the PDSCH PDSCH1 locates in the flexible slots.Thus, the communication device CD2 can receive the PDSCH PDSCH1 in theslots ST3-ST6 according to the DCI DCI1.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a process 160 according to an example of thepresent invention. The process 160 may be utilized in the communicationdevice CD1, to handle a measurement. The process 160 may be compiledinto the program codes 214 and includes the following steps:

Step 1600: Start.

Step 1602: Receive information of a measurement set for at least oneslot from a BS, wherein the information comprises at least one of ameasurement timing configuration of the measurement set and ameasurement resource of the measurement set.

Step 1604: Perform the measurement in the at least one slot according tothe measurement set, to obtain a measurement result.

Step 1606: End.

According to the process 160, the communication device CD1 receivesinformation of a measurement set for at least one slot from a BS,wherein the information comprises at least one of a measurement timingconfiguration of the measurement set and a measurement resource of themeasurement set. Then, the communication device CD1 performs themeasurement in the at least one slot according to the measurement set,to obtain a measurement result.

Realization of the process 160 is not limited to the above description.The following examples may be applied for realizing the process 160.

In one example, the measurement timing configuration comprises at leastone of a layer-1 average duration, a measurement duration, aperiodicity, at least one slot and at least one symbol offset. In oneexample, the measurement resource comprises at least one bandwidth partfor the measurement. In one example, the at least one bandwidth part isdetermined according to at least one of a system bandwidth and a higherlayer signalling.

In one example, the measurement resource does not overlap with anyreserving resource. In one example, the measurement comprises a receivedsignal strength indicator (RSSI) measurement.

In one example, the measurement result comprises at least one of anaverage received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and a channeloccupancy. The average RSSI may be defined as an average receive (Rx)power within an average duration. The channel occupancy may be definedas a percentage of time duration where the RSSI is greater than achannel occupancy threshold within the average duration. For example,the average duration is T, and the RSSI is greater than the channeloccupancy threshold within time durations Ta and Tb in the averageduration T. Accordingly, the communication device CD1 can obtain thatthe channel occupancy is (Ta+Tb)/T.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a measurement timing configurationaccording to an example of the present invention. The communicationdevice CD1 may be configured with a measurement set including ameasurement timing configuration. The measurement timing configurationincludes layer-1 average duration(s), a measurement duration, aperiodicity of a RSSI measurement duration and a slot/symbol offset. Asshown in FIG. 17, the measurement duration may include multiple (e.g.,5) layer-1 average durations. The slot/slot offset is a time distancebetween a start of the periodicity and a start of the measurementduration. According to the measurement timing configuration, thecommunication device CD1 performs measurements in the layer-1 averagedurations, and obtains corresponding measurement results (e.g., averageRSSIs and/or channel occupancies).

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration 180 withcorresponding measurements according to an example of the presentinvention. The UL/DL configuration 180 includes 10 slots ST1-ST10 and 3bandwidth parts BP1-BP3, wherein each of the slots ST1-ST10 is a DL slot(denoted as D), a UL slot (denoted as U) or a flexible slot (denoted asF). A flexible slot may be (e.g., configured by a DCI as) a DL slot, aUL slot or a self-contained slot (e.g., including DL resource, ULresource and/or flexible resource). In the present example, the slotsST4-ST7 are the flexible slots. Two cases (a)-(b) of utilizations ofbandwidth parts are discussed as follows.

In the case (a), the communication device CD1 receives information of ameasurement set for the slots ST5-ST6, wherein the information includesa measurement duration and a first measurement resource and a secondmeasurement resource in the slots ST5-ST6 for the bandwidth parts BP1and BP3. Then, the communication device CD1 performs measurements (e.g.,RSSI measurements) in the measurement resources of the slots ST5-ST6 ofthe bandwidth parts BP1 and BP3 according to the measurement set, toobtain measurement results (e.g., RSSIs). The measurements indifferentbandwidth parts may be performed independently.

In the case (b), the communication device CD1 receives information of ameasurement set for the slots ST5-ST6, wherein the information includesa measurement duration and a measurement resource in the slots ST5-ST6for the bandwidth parts BP1-BP3. Then, the communication device CD1performs measurements (e.g., RSSI measurements) in the correspondingmeasurement resources of the slots ST5-ST6 of the bandwidth partsBP1-BP3 according to the measurement set, to obtain measurement results(e.g., RSSIs). The measurements in different bandwidth parts may beperformed independently.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a UL/DL configuration 190 withcorresponding measurements according to an example of the presentinvention. The UL/DL configuration 190 includes 10 slots ST1-ST10 and 3bandwidth parts BP1-BP3, wherein each of the slots ST1-ST10 is a DL slot(denoted as D), a UL slot (denoted as U) or a flexible slot (denoted asF). A flexible slot may be (e.g., configured by a DCI as) a DL slot, aUL slot or a self-contained slot (e.g., including DL resource, ULresource and/or flexible resource). In the present example, the slotsST4-ST7 are the flexible slots.

The communication device CD1 receives information of a measurement setfor the slots ST4-ST7, wherein the information includes measurementdurations and measurement resources in the slots ST4-ST7 for thebandwidth parts BP1-BP3. Then, the communication device CD1 performsmeasurements (e.g., RSSI measurements) in the corresponding measurementresources of the slots ST4-ST7 of the bandwidth parts BP1-BP3 accordingto the measurement set, to obtain measurement results (e.g., RSSIs). Themeasurements in different bandwidth parts may be performedindependently.

The operation of “determine” described above may be replaced by theoperation of “compute”, “calculate”, “obtain”, “generate”, “output,“select”, “use”, “choose/select” or “decide”. The term of “according to”described above may be replaced by “in response to”. The phrase of“associated with” described above may be replaced by “of” or“corresponding to”. The term of “via” described above may be replaced by“on”, “in” or “at”. In one example, a resource (e.g., DL resource, ULresource or flexible resource) mentioned above is an OFDM symbol, or isa slot. In one example, a resource (e.g., DL resource, UL resource orflexible resource) mentioned above includes a group of OFDM symbols, orincludes a group of slots.

Those skilled in the art should readily make combinations, modificationsand/or alterations on the abovementioned description and examples. Theabovementioned description, steps and/or processes including suggestedsteps can be realized by means that could be hardware, software,firmware (known as a combination of a hardware device and computerinstructions and data that reside as read-only software on the hardwaredevice), an electronic system, or combination thereof. An example of themeans may be the communication device 20.

Examples of the hardware may include analog circuit(s), digital circuit(s) and/or mixed circuit (s). For example, the hardware may includeASIC(s), field programmable gate array(s) (FPGA(s)), programmable logicdevice(s), coupled hardware components or combination thereof. Inanother example, the hardware may include general-purpose processor(s),microprocessor(s), controller(s), digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s))or combination thereof.

Examples of the software may include set(s) of codes, set(s) ofinstructions and/or set(s) of functions retained (e.g., stored) in astorage unit, e.g., a computer-readable medium. The computer-readablemedium may include SIM, ROM, flash memory, RAM, CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/BD-ROM,magnetic tape, hard disk, optical data storage device, non-volatilestorage unit, or combination thereof. The computer-readable medium(e.g., storage unit) may be coupled to at least one processor internally(e.g., integrated) or externally (e.g., separated). The at least oneprocessor which may include one or more modules may (e.g., be configuredto) execute the software in the computer-readable medium. The set(s) ofcodes, the set(s) of instructions and/or the set(s) of functions maycause the at least one processor, the module(s), the hardware and/or theelectronic system to perform the related steps.

Examples of the electronic system may include a system on chip (SoC),system in package (SiP), a computer on module (CoM), a computer programproduct, an apparatus, a mobile phone, a laptop, a tablet computer, anelectronic book or a portable computer system, and the communicationdevice 20.

To sum up, the present invention provides a device and method forhandling a flexible duplexing. Interactions between communicationdevices and cells serving the communication device are defined. Thus, aCLI between the communication devices and the cells is reduced, and atransmission/reception of system information is protected. As a result,the problem regarding the flexible multiplexing is solved.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication device for handling ameasurement, comprising: at least one storage device; and at least oneprocessing circuit, coupled to the at least one storage device, whereinthe at least one storage device stores, and the at least one processingcircuit is configured to execute instructions of: receiving informationof a measurement set for at least one first slot from a base station(BS), wherein the information comprises at least one of a measurementtiming configuration of the measurement set and a measurement resourceof the measurement set; and performing the measurement in the at leastone first slot according to the measurement set, to obtain a measurementresult.
 2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the measurementtiming configuration comprises at least one of a layer-1 averageduration, a measurement duration, a periodicity, at least one secondslot and at least one symbol offset.
 3. The communication device ofclaim 1, wherein the measurement resource comprises at least onebandwidth part for the measurement.
 4. The communication device of claim3, wherein the at least one bandwidth part is determined according to atleast one of a system bandwidth and a higher layer signalling.
 5. Thecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the measurement resource doesnot overlap with any reserving resource.
 6. The communication device ofclaim 1, wherein the measurement comprises a received signal strengthindicator (RSSI) measurement.
 7. The communication device of claim 1,wherein the measurement result comprises at least one of an average RSSIand a channel occupancy.
 8. A method for handling a measurement of acommunication device, comprising: receiving information of a measurementset for at least one first slot from a base station (BS), wherein theinformation comprises at least one of a measurement timing configurationof the measurement set and a measurement resource of the measurementset; and performing the measurement in the at least one first slotaccording to the measurement set, to obtain a measurement result.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the measurement timing configurationcomprises at least one of a layer-1 average duration, a measurementduration, a periodicity, at least one second slot and at least onesymbol offset.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the measurementresource comprises at least one bandwidth part for the measurement. 11.The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one bandwidth part isdetermined according to at least one of a system bandwidth and a higherlayer signalling.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the measurementresource does not overlap with any reserving resource.
 13. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the measurement comprises a received signal strengthindicator (RSSI) measurement.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein themeasurement result comprises at least one of an average RSSI and achannel occupancy.